UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Nittany Lion women’s soccer team brought home 10 All-Big Ten accolades on Tuesday. Sophomore sensation Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) was named Big Ten Forward of the Year and was joined by three other Penn State members on the All-Big Ten First Team.
Hayes, who has trumped the country in goals (25) and points (58), earned her first All-Big Ten honor and is Penn State’s fourth "Offensive" Player of the Year, the last since Katie Schoepfer in 2009. The conference added separate winners for each position this season (forward, midfielder, defender and goalkeeper). Hayes earned four conference Offensive Player of the Week awards this season.
Junior midfielder Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) was named to the All-Big Ten First Team for the third straight year and was joined by two first-time first-team honorees in senior midfielder Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev.) and junior defender Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario). Marton was a 2009 second-team member and unanimous All-Freshman selection. Penn State earned the most spots on the All-Big Ten First Team with four nods.
Three PSU student-athletes were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team as sophomore striker Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) and graduate student goalkeeper Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba) garnered their first All-Big Ten laurels. Senior defender Emma Thomson (Nottinghamshire, England) landed on the second team for the second straight year.
A trio of Nittany Lions were honored on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team as defender Kori Chapic (Novelty, Ohio), midfielder Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Wash.) and midfielder Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.) took three of the 11 spots.
Senior goalkeeper Krissy Tribbett (Centennial, Colo.) was Penn State’s representative of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
The 14-time defending regular-season champions are the top seed at the Big Ten Tournament hosted by Northwestern, and the Lions opened play Wednesday defeating the host Wildcats, 3-0. Penn State faces Minnesota in the semifinals at 4:45 p.m. Friday.